The Midsummer Morris Spring Grove Morris Men's biennial celebration of Morris Dancing held in Twickenham and Richmond From 1507 to the mid-1800s Kingston Parish, the historical patch of Kingston's Morris Men, included the minor town of Richmond and Twickenham village. With the division of the parish into two, Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames, The Spring Grove Morris Men cross the river north from the big city to their historical northern dancing grounds for the Midsummer Morris. The next Midsummer Morris will be held in 2015 on Thursday 25th June when we will be based in Twickenham for the full evening as part of Twickenham's summer festival. The following sides are expected:
Schedule 8.00pm The Fox, Church Street, Twickenham TW1 3NR 8.00pm The White Swan, Riverside, Twickenham, TW1 3DN 9:15pm The Barmy Arms, The Embankment, Twickenham, TW1 3DU Richmond  Meet at The White Cross from 7:30pm and get a beer. We'll start dancing at any time after 8:00pm when any side has enough to put up a set. Depending on the number of sides attending and their eagerness to dance we may dance both in front of The White Cross and across the slipway at the bottom of Water Lane in front of Collins' Brewery, now a Slug and Lettuce.  Richmond Riverside Click the picture of Richmond Riverside for an impressive panorama. The open corridor of the river running between Twickenham and Richmond with many trees on both banks and, in particular, on Corporation Island creates a scene of national renown. The promenade, boats, boat houses and boat hire and the movement generated along the river have created a recreational water frontage of much interest and a setting to the 18th century Richmond Bridge and 18th and 19th century buildings.  The White Cross Built on the site of an abbey suppressed by Henry VIII, the White Cross draws its name from the symbol of Friars Observant of Richmond. Parking is tight in Richmond but there are spots around the green and in Old Palace Lane as well as the marked car parks. Details at http://www.richmond.gov.uk/home/community_and_living/local_maps/car_parks_map.htm Twickenham We split the sides in two, half start at the Fox, the other half at The White Swan  At 9:00pm move on to the Barmy Arms in Twickenham. Go over Richmond bridge and at a major junction fork left into Richmond Road. Head into Twickenham as Richmond Road turns into York Street and then turn left by Santander down to the recently refurbished riverside and the Barmy Arms. Alternatively buses run between Richmond and Twickenham every 3 minutes (33, R68, H22, R70, 490) with average journey time pub to pub of 15 mins. Once we finish dancing a buffet is served courtesy of Spring Grove and we can sing and play to round off the evening.  Twickenham Riverside Click the picture of Twickenham Riverside for a larger view. At the heart of Twickenham is an 18th century village where St Mary's 15th century rag-stone tower sits next to a modern town centre.  Barmy Arms The Barmy Arms is an 18th century pub that was renamed from the Queen's Head Inn in 1977 after over 250 years celebrating Queen Anne (1665-1714). The pub had became notorious for the strange behaviour of the "barmy" landlord and acquired its eponymous name. |
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